My head buzzed from the wine, so I only nodded in response. Brietta downed the rest of her wine in a big gulp, probably a trick she learned from Duchess Hyton. A servant appeared next to Brietta with a glass bottle inhis hands.
“Lady Hyton, His Excellency offers a gift,” the servant said, gesturing with the bottle. “The finest wine from the Duke’sprivate stores.”
Well, it certainly did not take long for Brietta to receive special treatment as a Hyton. Brietta gave the servant a half-smile and offered up her cup, which the servant dutifully filled with an oddly purple wine. Brietta took a big sip and her eyebrows raised inpleasant surprise.
“Mmm!” she hummed, her brown eyes shining with delight. Her face then contorted into a grimace and she stuck out her tongue as she tried to banish a foul taste from her mouth. “The Duke has, uh, an interesting taste in wine.” She carefully took another sip outof politeness.
Brietta had worked her way through Duke Hyton’s gift when the door opened. Grigory entered the sitting room with his limp slightly more prominent than usual. Myles, Gerond, and Derrick dragged in after him with red cheeks andsnickering smiles.
I could not keep my eyes off of Derrick’s face—he only had a few tiny cuts on his cheeks and his lower lip after his fight with his father. Either Fraleigh had healed him or the Hytons kept a secret store of the strongest medicinalpotions imaginable.
I let out a small breath of relief. At least he wasall right.
Grigory stumbled toward Annalisa and her eyes widened with panic. “What is the matterwith you?”
“Your father brought out the good stuff from his private stores,” Grigory said as he leaned toward Annalisa and almost bashed his forehead into hers. “He, uh, wasverygenerous with us…butespecially Derrick.”
Derrick’s cheeks flushed and he crossed his arms to hold backa laugh.
“We have to perform the first dance!” Annalisa whispered with her eyebrows knitted in fear. “Everyone is going to be watching and what ifyou trip—”
“Relax, Annalisa,” Grigory slurred, grabbing Annalisa by the right wrist. “Don’t beso dramatic!”
I waited for Riyan to duck into the room after the others, but to both my relief and surprising disappointment, my own husband was nowhere tobe found.
I scoffed. “Just be thankful you have an escort, Anna. Mineis missing.”
Gerond chuckled. “Oh, he is not missing.” He pointed to the door that led to the ballroom. “Takea look!”
Gerond and Myles snickered to each other while Derrick angrily rolled his eyes. I threw my shoulders back and walked over to the ballroom door topeer outside.
Riyan sat on the floor on the far end of the ballroom, holding a small barrel of wine in his hands as if it were a large cup. Duke Hyton and a small crowd of Barons and other nobles gathered around him with amused smiles. The Duke amongst the nobles was not the same cruel and scheming Duke from earlier, but instead a jovial and lively man. He was the life of the party—yet another mask hecould wear.
“Did you all really think I was going to let the boy go through all my best wine?” Duke Hyton said in a roaring laugh. “I bet he can empty the barrel intwo minutes!”
“I bet one minute!” shoutedanother man.
“I bet thirty seconds!”laughed another.
Duke Hyton turned to Riyan. “You heard them,boy, drink!”
Riyan tipped the barrel into his mouth and gulped down the wine while the crowd cheered wildly around him. Riyan was once again a happy stooge for the Duke’s plan to charm the Barons. I huffed and slammed thedoor closed.
“Wow, he is really going for it!” Myles laughed as he awkwardly stumbled onhis feet.
Derrick sneered and wobbled slightly as he stood. “That damn brute. I would take you myself, Serafina, if I hadany choice.”
I clenched my fists. Father had once told me that some men were happy drunks, some sad, some flew into a rage, and some became rakishly handsy the moment a drop of wine entered their bodies. I was not about to stick around to find out which kind of drunk Riyan turned into, nor any of theother men.
“I do not need an escort!” I snapped. “Especially not adrunk one!”
I flung open the door and stormed into the ballroom. Everyone was too busy watching Riyan drain the barrel down his gullet to notice me enter unaccompanied.
My head was swimming after my own three goblets of wine, but I found the only person in dark green standing near the wall. Mother wore the Ravenwood diadem on her head, the gold clashing slightly with the silver streaks in her hair, and held her own goblet as she watched the crowd cheer around Riyan. She stood in the shadows, not speaking with anyone. An ideal placeto be.
“No escort, Serafina?” Mother said with a wry smile as I walked over to standbeside her.
“I cannot believe him,” I scoffed as Riyan held the empty barrel upside-down to the applause of the crowd. Gold coins flashed in the candlelight as they changed hands between the old noblemen. “He is enough of a spectacle by just existing, why does he have to play DukeHyton’s games?”
